Surfing the Skies

      As someone who is often struck by the insatiable desire to travel the world many times over, I’ve become a zealous advocate of filling your wanderlust dreams. I long to stroll Rome’s perfectly imperfect cobblestone streets. To swim those mosaic of hues that make up the Aegean Seas.

       But I am also someone whose feet are firmly planted in reality. Someone who realizes that as much as I would like to I can’t drop everything at a moments’ notice and jet off to Copenhagen for the weekend. As much as I would love to be devouring the white asparagus at Noma by tomorrow evening...

       To assuage my yearning I enlisted a friend of mine to explore our own city, seeing where the moment would take us. So one weekday morning flooded in sunlight and clear blue skies we trekked over to Williamsburg in search of adventure. It was a long day fueled by dazzling views of Manhattan’s skyline and cups of coffee at Toby’s Estate.  As it turns out a traipse around the city was just what we needed. 

I can't lie... we may or may not have gone full-tourist and blasted Taylor Swift's new song 'Welcome to New York' while standing on that pier. That scrumptious ice cream (blueberry pancake flavored!) from OddFellows Ice Cream Co. was the perfect treat on such an unseasonably warm day. And of course what trip to Brooklyn would be complete without finishing off the day with a stop into my favorite movie theater, The Nitehawk? 

Thom Browne SS15

Recently I’ve been doing a lot of novel reading and the words of Virginia Woolf in particular have me reminiscing about Thom Browne’s SS15 show back in September. It started with a forty-minute line outside the show venue, a wait time prolonged by the confusion of separating lines between the press entrance and that of the buyers’. However, all was immediately forgiven when attendees did eventually filtered into the spectacle and witnessed the eccentric set.

            In what appeared to be a typical New England style garden, models stood stoically, some with their faces painted to resemble marble, while others appeared to be sunbathing on concrete slabs. The show began as a seersuckered man wielding a ‘50s style lawn mower mimed trimming the grass. The story, written by Thom Browne and narrated by my Queen, Diane Keaton, was projected throughout the room to set the tone of the collection. The somewhat perverse story told the tale of “six sisters who dressed together, but the clothes themselves told a more sinister story.” The fable progressed at the rate of the clothes moving down the runway- “Mondays they start their week in tailoring, by the weekend they’re naked.”

            While the whole collection could be summed up as a whimsical foray into the garden, it was the combination of the immaculate tailoring and playful silhouettes that made it a venerable hit. The toppers, which were designed by long-term collaborator Stephen Jones, are currently residing at the top of my wish list.

jacket: Topshop

Skirt & Shoes: Zara

Top: Asos

(last photo via Thom Browne Instagram)

Color Me Cozy, a Tribute to Fall.

While I love the romanticism behind the notion proposed by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby when he famously wrote “Life stats all over again when it gets crisp in the fall,” I’ve always been more of the mindset that autumn is about taking a step back.

Enjoying the simplicity of those first few days of wearing your favorite sweater- mainly out of wishful thinking in the beginning, but eventually that extra layer becomes a necessity. Experiencing your first walk thorough the park (or scenic drive around the neighborhood), ear buds in- setting the mood to narcotic slow jams while trudging over carpets of fallen leaves.

The days are getting shorter. Suddenly the only visible light comes from the intoxicating glow of apartment windows and heavily populated wine bars. For me this time of year is all about being in the moment. Not letting the outside world rob you of experiencing visions of falling leaves, your truly natural wind-tousled hair, or warming your fingers over hot apple cider with loved ones. After spending all year thinking about what’s next on the agenda, and how to get to your next destination (whether that place is an actual geographical spot or a metaphorical step on the ladder) it’s a true luxury to have those few cozy moments of  quiet appreciation.

A friend's birthday dinner at The Lion, a cozy spot in Greenwich Village.

Right before my total domination of the apple pie contest at Enid's in Brooklyn. 

Halloween adventures with two of my favorite people, Lisa and Marcel (of Just Another Fashion Blog and One Dapper Street, respectively)

Werqing It Out In My Vogue Jeans

            The first time I saw these hilarious jeans by Ashish was on the legs of Karlie Kloss at London’s Vogue Festival last February. What a clever and cheeky nod to the event. But I was skeptical of whether or not they would work in real life- especially when worn by someone who doesn’t quite fall into the same ‘legs for days’ category as Ms. Kloss does.

            When they finally hit stores a few months later I decided to try them on- partly for kicks, but mostly because I was curious to see how they’d look on actual human proportions. The fitting room can be dangerous territory in these sorts of situations… The second I put them on I started dreaming of how well they would go when paired with heels (a la Karlie) or even funky sneakers (as they were shown on the Ashish runway).  It wasn’t up for discussion; they had to come home with me!

            As with any bold piece, working up the nerve to wear them in public took a little psychological preparation. Since they are incredibly roomy and easy to move around in, I figured working all day on a photoshoot would be the perfect opportunity to break these puppies out. Surrounded by like-minded fashion girls (and boys), they did not go unnoticed. A few people even wanted to try them on which created an interesting V-flat, multi-person changing area situation. They were such a hit that the photographer wanted Ali (Michael, the model) to try them out for the story we were shooting. The story has yet to come out, but I can’t wait to see if my pants made the cut!

Our team for the day...

Jeans: Ashish

Sweater: Topshop

Shoes: Yohji Yamamoto